Simple Tragedies
by DorothyDearest
Summary: How was Sam to know that after over a decade of saving Earth from so many dangers that something much less unusual would stop her from going home to her fiancé after her time in the Pegasus Galaxy
1. Coming home - part 1

How was Sam to know that after over a decade of saving Earth from so many dangers that something much less unusual would stop her from going home to her husband after her time in the Pegasus Galaxy

**A/N: Alright this is my first ever fan fic, so please be gentle with me. Anyway, I don't know how long this will be because I have only really come up with the plot and not the rest of the story. Wish me luck! It is set after Sam returns to Earth from Pegasus. Also, in any story that I write I refuse to acknowledge the death of Dr Frasier so expect to see her pop up in most of my stories**

**Atlantis Control Room: Pegasus Galaxy**

As Sam said her final goodbyes to the people she had come to cherish over the past twelve months she couldn't help but let her always over active mind think about the true reason for her departure. She felt bad for lying to her team, as far as they were concerned she would be returning shortly after a debriefing with the IOA back on Earth. Oh how wrong they were.

Although she knew it may be for the very last time she walked towards the event horizon she couldn't stop the huge smile from spreading across her face as she drew closer, a smile that was only ever seen at the mention of that one special person in her life, a fact that Colonel Sheppard had not missed. John had some doubts about the reasoning behind his CO's story as to why she was leaving Atlantis, in the twelve or so months she had been stationed here he never heard her speak of anybody waiting for her back home she only ever spoke of her time with SG-1 if someone brought it up or if she felt it was relevant to an up-coming mission. He had thought that she was just a very private person, which she was but then it occurred to John that Sam had adorned the exact same smile the last time that General O'Neill had visited Atlantis with Mr Woolsey and come to think of it he had noticed a small grin appear on her face even with the mention of the General's name. John, like everybody else that knew either Samantha Carter or Jack O'Neill had their suspicions (or bets depending on who you spoke to at the SGC) about the relationship between the two US Air Force Officers. He decided to drop the train of thought just as Sam stepped through the gate, he turned on is heels and faced the other military personnel in the gate room "So, who's ready to party!"

As she came face to face with what was still the most amazing thing she had ever seen in her life (even more so than the sight of a sun blowing up a whole star system) She turned around and soaked in the Atlantis gate room, looking into the faces of the various people working in the control room and finally her 2IC who had so nicely offered to walk her to the gate. With a little wave she turned and stepped through the gate.

**SGC Gate Room: Earth**

She wandered if she would forget how it felt, the sudden jolt of ones molecules being scrambled up and then brought back together thousands of light years from where they had begun, albeit much colder. Or the rush of adrenaline that coursed through her body any time she thought about the Star Gate. None of it mattered to her anymore because she was getting married in the next few weeks to none other than General Jack O'Neill (retired). She giggled as she remembered the way in which he corrected anybody who regarded him as 'General', and then truly smiled at the scolding she would have received if he was ever in the presence of a giggling Carter. General Landry bent down to the mic in the control room "Welcome home Colonel" Sam smiled "It's good to be back sir".

**Conference room: Earth**

The General didn't miss the fact that for a woman who had just spent a very stressful twelve months in another galaxy filled with life sucking aliens, Sam appeared almost giddy as she walked into the briefing room. She took her usual seat at the table to the General's right hand side. Hank smiled to himself at the thought that it was like she never left, although he could almost taste the impatience emanating from her body. The briefing didn't take nearly as long as either of them thought. Hank knew exactly how Colonel Carter would react to the news of her replacement. "Colonel, the decision has been made; the powers that be think it would be better if a civilian were to be in charge of Atlantis." "Sir with all due respect the IOA know that this is the only way for them to get their slimy fingers into every decision made at Atlantis. They didn't like the last civilian who was in charge of Atlantis which is exactly why I was sent there, what makes them think there representative will be any different" Slimy fingers? She had been thinking way too much about Jack over the past couple of days.

"They don't think, they know I'll be a good choice Colonel." "Mr Woolsey." General Landry greeted the suited man with a slight nod of his head. "As far as I'm concerned Mr Woolsey all the IOA do is think, they think just long enough for someone else (usually me she thought to herself) to make the decision for them and then have to deal with the consequences after some more deliberation from the always thinking IOA!" Sam almost spat the words at the man. "Well Colonel if that's how you feel why did you request your reassignment to Earth" The man replied with a smug look on his face, that were they not sitting in the conference room of the SGC, would have earned the man a fair punch in the face. Mr Woolsey shifted uncomfortably at the glare being shot his way from across the table. "Ahumm" The General cleared his throat in an attempt to break the rising tension in the room. It didn't seem to help, god he didn't want to have to fill out the paperwork if a certain Colonel sent Mr Woolsey to the infirmary with a broken nose. So he stood up and stared at Colonel Carter. "Okay Colonel, that's enough, unless you decide that this was a mistake and you want to head back to Atlantis then I suggest you make your way to the infirmary and get checked over before I let you go. Understood?" "Yes Sir." came the not so enthusiastic reply from the Colonel. She stood up and threw a salute to the general and simply turned and headed off to the infirmary. She knew she had probably over reacted but she couldn't imagine John or Ronan for that matter taking orders from Mr Woolsey, boy did he have it coming.

**A/N: Alright so what do you think? I definitely didn't know how to finish this chapter and this wasn't how I wanted to do it but it was getting a bit lengthy so I decided to cut it off. Maybe I will make it a two parter? Anyways, hopefully in the next chapter the story line will be revealed to all.**


	2. Coming home - part 2

**A/N: okay well i hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter. I thought it would be better not to leave you guys waiting for too long so here is the next one. The stuff in italics are flashbacks. Also everything is un-betad so all mistakes are my own and I own nothing, I just borrow these lovely characters and do it purely for my own enjoyment. If i notice something I will try and fix it ASAP.  
**

Sam was disappointed to learn that her best friend, Janet Frasier, wasn't working that night. Her check-up was routine and nothing out of the ordinary was found, so she went to the locker room to get changed into her civvies. It felt weird to be out of uniform, after a year of living on base there were very few reasons for her to not be wearing her uniform. She made her way up to the surface, and got into one of the many base cars, that she would be using until she could swap it over for one of her 'souped' up cars, as Jack likes to call them.

Sitting behind the wheel of the car gave Sam too much time to think over the last year of her life. First her engagement, then being deployed to another galaxy before she even had a chance to get used to her new life. Of all of the crazy things that had happened in said galaxy, one moment in particular came to mind, one of the only times in the past twelve months when she thought she wouldn't make it out alive.

_Sam had just walked through the gate to M5V-801 with Dr Keller and McKay. Their mission was to negotiate the resettlement of the locals who were living with daily tremors which were making it unsafe at their current settlement. The three of them walked together towards the town. Sam relished the feeling of being off-world again. It had been a long time since she had felt the need to go off-world since becoming the commanding officer at Atlantis. Unfortunately for her this particular trip didn't go so well. They ended up falling into an unstable abandoned Genii mining facility. After several unsuccessful attempts to escape, Dr Keller and McKay come up with an idea that could work._

_"See those beams up there? We use the rope to get up there. That buys us at least ten feet, then we build a bridge – a bridge using…. Using these" He picks up one of three wooden planks lying on the floor and drags it across to the girls. "We stack a couple of crates, we're gold, and we got that high before." Sam inspects the beams and the planks "Yeah, but I don't think these are long enough to span the distance between these two beams." McKay really wants this idea to work, he knows it will work "So we find a hammer and nails." He adds. Sam rolls her eyes, for somebody that's supposed to be smart he sure comes up with some utterly stupid ideas "Sure – why not just add a jet pack and trampoline to that list?" Stupid McKay. McKay makes his way over to the lockers "It is possible to find a hammer and nails." He starts searching through the lockers Keller rolls her eyes at the man "We've been over the room pretty thoroughly." "But there's gotta be hammer and nails." He is beginning to sound desperate now. "Well, even if we found them…" Carter tries to add before being interrupted by a very desperate Rodney "Look, we just have to build a bridge." _

_Keller looks between the beams and Rodney before remembering something that may help "Wait a second, wait a second. That bar bet." Carter and McKay have the same look of confusion on their faces "Sorry?" Sam didn't get out enough to know any bar bets that didn't relate to pool. "That dumb trick you do to get free beer." Sam definitely needed to get out more; she frowns and shakes her head at Rodney, hoping he may have some idea of what Jennifer is talking about. He looks equally confused and turns to Jennifer. "We don't know what you're talking about." Jennifer had looked through the room once more and had found three equally sized metal pots and stood them upside down onto a crate in a triangle shape. She has also found three knives. McKay doesn't see how three metal cups and knives would be able to get them out of this mess but Sam appeared to be really thinking it through. "the bet goes like this: using these three knives and without moving these three cups, you need to build a bridge that can support another cup's weight. Rodney looks exasperated and glares at Sam before turning back to Jennifer. "We don't have another cup." Sam and Jennifer both roll their eyes "well, whatever." She picks up a small plastic object from the crate. "we'll use this. OK, now ,see…" She puts the handle of one of the knives onto one of the cups and shows that the blade won't reach the next cup. "Just like our boards, just a little too short to span the space between the two beams there." She gestures upward. Rodney looks up, than everyone looks nervous as the room creaks loudly. "OK, you know what? We're geniuses, we can probably figure it out, but a little under the gun, so…" McKay is getting more and more nervous. "OK" She starts to put the knives into position on top of the cups, resting the blade of each on one cup and pointing the handles into the middle of the triangle. The handles meet and overlap. She carefully interlaces them so they lock together and support each other, then takes the plastic object and stands it on top. Immediately the two scientists walk over and examine the beams and the wooden planks. Jennifer turns and smiles at them smugly. "You owe me a beer, by the way." McKay turns to look at her "Hey, if this works, I'll buy you a keg."_

_Between the three of them they set up the planks on top of the beams and positioned the crate below the opening in the ceiling. Just as Sam was about to reach for the hole another tremor started, causing the planks of wood beneath her to crack. She came tumbling to the ground. Feeling the pain rush through her body Sam knew that it was highly unlikely that she would ever get out of there, she would never see Atlantis again, her friends, her soon-to-be husband…_

Sam was driving down the highway not really paying much attention to what was happening around her. Which is something she doesn't normally do. If she had been paying attention, being as observant as she is, she would have been alright. Sam didn't notice the high speed police chase happening just a little ways down the mountain from her, a man had stolen an SUV from a local gas station and was now being pursued by the local police forces. The man had begun speeding up and the highway was fairly empty at 1300 hours on a Tuesday afternoon. There were only a couple of cars on the road. What he didn't expect was for a car to come around the corner at the exact moment he decided it would be a good idea for him to drive on the wrong side of the highway: a car that was being driven by one Colonel Carter. The two cars hit each other head one, the SUV skidded to a stop on the side of the road, but the Air Force Colonel was not so lucky, as much as she tried to control the car once it started rolling down the highway, there was little she could do except pray that she would die quickly and painlessly.

**A/N: Okay so I know this chapter is really long but I knew how I wanted to finish this chapter, I just had to try and figure out a way to start it. I'm quite happy with this chapter and I hope you enjoy it too. The next chapter will deal with the after effects of the accident and will introduce Jack. Please review the story so I know if you guys are enjoying this, I'm happy to take any suggestions that you guys might have in regards to the story.**


	3. Jane Doe

**A/N: Well how lucky are you guys? Three chapters in less than 24 hours, I think I am just as excited for the rest of this story as you guys. I find myself getting so excited and interested in the story that my brain is working faster than my fingers can type and it's just coming out really quickly. So I hope you guys don't mind so much that I left the last chapter where I did but I thought it seemed like a natural break in the story and you didn't have to wait too long for the next one. Anyways, enjoy and I hope to get some reviews and hear what you all think. (quick note, these next few paragraphs may be a bit confronting for some people but they are an important aspect to the story. I also don't pretend to understand fully what would happen if someone were to be in an accident as serious as this.)**

**Scene of the accident**

Sam lay there for a long time before it occurred to her that she hadn't died. She was still very much alive, if the shooting pain going through her abdomen was anything to go by. Everything was black, no matter how much she tried to focus on something; on anything it was all just black. All of the noises around her seemed to be blending together into high pitched squealing sounds which weren't helping the constant throbbing in her head; she couldn't make out the sound of people around her trying to ask her name or where she was hurting. She hadn't realised at the time but in her hast to see her husband she had left all of her personal belongings back at the base, meaning that none of the paramedics could ascertain her identity. It was chaos around the crumpled vehicle on the side of the road, the head Paramedic on scene, Dave, was desperately trying to rally everybody and save the woman lying amongst the warped car body.

In all it took emergency crews twenty five minutes to remove the Jane Doe from the vehicle, as far as they could tell she was in her early thirties and appeared to be in fairly good health other than her obvious injuries, which were quite obvious. She had a large portion of the windshield imbedded in her abdomen, her right arm and left leg were completely shattered and she also had some pretty serious burns on her legs and lower torso all of which were almost completely covered in gravel rash.

**En Route to the Hospital**

On the way to the local hospital the Jane Doe had crashed multiple times, it was unlikely that if she had once more before reaching the hospital there would be little that Dave would be able to do for her with limited resources. Something with this woman told him not to give up though, he was determined to get her to the hospital and he was going to stay with her until she died or her family arrived, which ever happened first.

**The O'Neill household**

After a long day at work there was nothing Jack was looking forward to more than sitting on the couch and watching some T.V. with an ice cold beer. As he walked in the door, he had a strange feeling of loneliness, that unknown to anyone else he had felt quite frequently over the last twelve months since his soon-to-be wife had been stationed in another galaxy thousands of light years away. He put his keys in the bowl on the hall table and made his way to the kitchen where he dumped his bag and took his shoes off. He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and noticed that there really wasn't much else in it. "Should probably go and do some shopping" He said aloud. He snorted at the statement and casually strolled over to the couch "Oh how I have missed you today friend." He had endured a very long meeting with the joint chiefs today, a meeting that after several long hours he couldn't tell you why they had requested the little 'get together' in the first place. For one he was semi-retired now and secondly, he didn't really care all that much about the politics involved anymore. He missed the days of walking through the Stargate with his team, never certain of what was on the other side, but he would give it up all over again if it meant that he could call Samantha Carter, Samantha O'Neill. With that thought he turned the T.V. on. He was just casually flicking through the many channels on cable when he came across an episode of 'The Simpson's' he settled in for the long run hoping he had just caught the beginning of a marathon.

When the episode finished and the credits began rolling, Jack got up to get himself another beer. From the kitchen he could hear the news begin and he grumbled to himself, unlike Teal'c or Daniel he was never really interested in the daily happenings of his own planet. As he rounded the corner back into the living room he leant down poised to change the station when an urgent news story flashed onto the screen. "A high speed car chase this afternoon resulted in a head on crash with another motorist. Police are yet to release any details on the Male driver who caused the accident but urge anyone who has seen this woman to contact them." A police sketch of a woman looking very much like Sam had popped up on his television. For what felt like hours Jack watched again as the story was repeated and the image shown once again. "It can't be" he muttered to himself as he ran into the kitchen to grab his phone off the counter, he dialled the all too familiar number and continued to watch the image of his fiancée. "Hello? Hello, is anybody there?" "Hank, It's Jack!" The general hadn't expected to hear from Jack for another few days and hearing the urgency in his voice he was immediately worried "Jack, what's wrong?" Jack took in a deep breathe trying desperately to reclaim his equilibrium. "I just need one answer from you Hank. Where. Is. Sam?" he said each word carefully and slowly trying to hide the knot that had begun to form in his throat. "I thought she was with you Jack" Jack couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped his mouth "you mean to tell me that my fiancée is back home?" Hank was really getting worried now; Colonel Carter had left the base hours ago to surprise Jack, she should have made it to their house already. "She left the base hours ago Jack, she wanted to surprise you when you got home" For a few moments Jack didn't know what to say his fiancée had come home but could very well be laying in a hospital or worse dead. "Jack what's wrong?" Hank was desperate to get an answer from the retired General it wasn't like the man to be at a loss of words. "I…uh.. just turn on the news Hank." Jack quickly began gathering up some things while he waited for the General to catch up with him "Shit!" was all he heard from the other end of the phone. "Look Hank I'm on my way to the hospital that they mentioned on the news, I've got some photo I.D. for Sam but I want Janet there, can you call her for me?" Hank was still trying to absorb the news "Ah sure Jack, you just get to that hospital I will sort everything else out." "thanks" Came the hasty reply. Then the line went dead.

**A/N: Okay so this chapter went in a completely different direction than I thought and I apologise for the depressing tone that the story is taking but I promise it will start to lighten up from here. I also hope that I am staying true to the characters that we all know and love. If anyone has suggestions please review the story and let me know I will take all of them on board, as I am really just making this up as I go along. Anyways, Janet will be in the next chapter. Stick with me though hopefully you all like what I'm writing and will continue to support me. Thanks guys I really appreciate it.**


	4. Gut feelings

**A/N: Alright so I really had no idea where this chapter was going and I had several different ideas for it. I had to finish a uni assignment which is why it has taken me this long to get this chapter started. I hope you like the way that I chose to write this and I really look forward to hearing what everyone thinks. This ended up being quite a lot longer than I had expected and I still cut it into two chapters, I can see this story getting a bit out of hand very quickly.**

As he was driving to the hospital Jack instantly recognised the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew wouldn't go away until he saw those big, beautiful blue eyes look up at him. The last time he had felt that feeling was when they had lost contact with Atlantis, and it didn't go away until he received a video message from his fiancée nearly 10 days later. It took him nearly forty five minutes to arrive at the hospital and he was more than anxious to see Sam by that time, but he knew there would be plenty of hoops to jump through so to speak. He pulled into the parking lot out the front and only then did he realise the time, it was nearly 2300 hours and right know the last thing on his mind was sleep. That is, until the adrenaline wears off he thought. He grabbed the bag out of the back of his truck that he had packed with some essential items and made his way into the hospital.

He walked into the waiting room and hadn't realised but he looked like a mess, as soon as a nurse spotted him she rushed over. She had thought the man was going to pass out with how pale he was; she grabbed his arm to try and break his impending fall "Sir are you all right? Sir?" Jack looked the young nurse directly in the eyes, he was so scared but he had to be strong for Sam. He cleared his throat and shook his head lightly in an attempt to clear his thoughts "Ah.. my.. um fiancée.. she was in a.. On the news, I saw my fiancée." He didn't miss the look of pity that the nurse shot his way when he struggled to put together a sentence, she had tried to make him sit down but he couldn't, he wouldn't until he saw her. "Please Sir, just sit down and I will help you." Jack once again made eye contact with the young nurse and made a conscious decision that right now he had to be strong for Sam for as long as he could. He drew in a large, calming breathe and began to explain himself "Alright, look. I turned on the news and saw the story about my.." He paused and closed his eyes at the thought, putting a comforting hand on his elbow the nurse urged him to continue. "The story about the Jane Doe, I believe that the woman on the news is my fiancée. I need to see her, please." The nurse sat next to them man for a few seconds, for this wasn't the only gentleman who had come in this evening claiming to the partner of the Jane Doe brought in earlier. She had seen the news story but didn't know much else other than the fact that three other men had come in claiming to know the Jane Doe currently in ICU. However, this time seemed different, her instincts were telling her that the pain on this man's face was quite genuine and he truly was engaged to that woman.

She stood up pulling at the older gentleman's elbow as she turned; she saw the sigh of relief come from the man as he understood what her actions meant, he would get to see Sam. They walked down a few corridors and into a small conference room where the nurse offered him a seat and a drink. "Look I will go and get the head nurse, doctor and the police officers and you can hopefully get in to see your fiancée soon." Jack looked up at her quickly, Oh my god, he had been here for nearly ten minutes and he hadn't even asked if she was alive "How is she?" the nurse looked back at the man, a slight flash of pity ran across her features again "I don't know, sorry. All I know is what has been on the news and that if anybody came in to claim her to bring them here. I will bring in the police and the hospital staff that are seeing to her; they will be able to tell you more." He had felt a twinge of gratitude towards the young woman, she was clearly overwhelmed by the situation but had kept up her professionalism throughout the ordeal "Thanks anyway" Jack added sadly, not wanting to be rude.

Five minutes later and the adrenaline was beginning to wear off and the trauma of his afternoon was definitely catching up with him. He laid his head down on the table just as the door opened across from him. His head popped up quickly and he took in the people walking through the door, two (older) police officers, an older lady who Jack quickly guessed must be the head nurse and a very young man in a Doctors coat. He immediately didn't like this man simply because he wasn't Janet but tried to push his distaste to the back of his mind, all that mattered was that he had probably saved Sam's life and for that he would always be eternally grateful to him. The group of people all sat across the table from Jack, looking him over as they did. "Okay I understand that you people need to make sure that I'm not some whack job, but can we get on with this, because if it is my fiancée lying in there then I should damn well be sitting with her, not you four!" He jabbed a finger across the table and glared at the four sets of eyes that were all focused on him. "Sir we understand your impatience but like you said we need to verify who you are and if in fact the woman in the ICU s your… fiancée you said?" Jack gave a slight nod of his head not remembering mentioning anything about verifying his 'identity', he then looked directly at the doctor "Before we start anything I just need to know. Is she okay?"

The Doctor had a very professional appearance to him, brown hair that had been combed, freshly shaven face, god he even smelt as if he had just put some cologne on. He perched himself on the edge of his seat and looked directly at Jack "She is in a critical condition at the moment and it has been touch and go since she arrived but she seems to be fighting." Jack smiled to himself, that's sounds exactly like the Samantha Carter he knew. He looked up at the police officer who was clearly in charge "Alright let's get on with it then."

Jack didn't really pay much attention to the people sitting across from him as they went through the paperwork that Jack had instinctively thought to bring with him, until the Doctor had received a page and rushed out of the room. He just kept thinking about the possibility that something may have happened regarding Sam and he was stuck in here. About ten minutes after the doctor left the commanding police officer cleared his throat "Look General O'Neill.." "I'm retired, call me Jack." "Right, sure. Look Jack everything you have bought in seems to be in order and I can tell you that the Jane Doe in question appears to be your fiancée." Jack stood up eager to get on with it "Alright Sylvia here," The officer pointed to the woman sitting next to him. "will take you to see her and we will be by later once we have checked in with our sergeant." Jack tried to smile at the man, he knew he was only doing his job but it was hard when he was the one keeping him from Sam "Thanks for being patient Jack and we hope she pulls through." The two officers got up, both shaking Jack's hand before leaving the room. Jack turned his attention to Sylvia, an older, very round lady; he smiled at her just as she did the same. "Why don't I take you to see your fiancée now hmm?" Jack let the smile on his face grow at her words, he was finally going to get to see Sam.

Jack had to consciously stop himself from running down the corridors of the hospital and to stay beside Sylvia; although the woman was quite old she walked fairly fast, Jack was pretty sure that was because she could sense the urgency in every step that he took. Just as they rounded a corner Sylvia stopped and clutched at Jack's elbow "Jack I need to prepare you for what your about to see, the crash was pretty serious and Samantha is still in a critical condition. She has been ventilated but only as a precaution, she has already had two emergency surgeries since she arrived and will most likely need a few more. She's pretty battered up and it may be hard for you to see her like that, if you need to step out, feel free alright? There is no need to feel embarrassed." Jack was looking between the lady and the curtain behind her which he knew was surrounding his fiancée. "Can I go in?" Sylvia stepped aside pulling the curtain back as she moved.

Jack didn't know where to look first, at the battered up body of his fiancée on the bed in front of him or the man sleeping in a chair next to the bed. Before Jack could decide the man woke up, well maybe he wasn't asleep after all, and looked straight to Jack. "Hi, I'm Dave I was first on scene at the accident." Dave had looked at them man standing in front of him and was glad that somebody had finally come to claim this poor woman. "She's my fiancée, but thank you all the same." Jack couldn't help but let a certain amount of bitterness into his voice. "Oh sorry, I just… never mind." Dave gave the older man a quick smile and then shook his hand "Look man, I wish you both luck and I will be praying for her, she's a fighter though I'm sure she'll pull through." He added the last piece to try and soften the reality of the situation. Jack looked at Sam lying in the bed "That she is Dave, she really is."

**A/N: Well that's another chapter done and dusted. I'm not sure when I will get the next chapter up but hopefully it will be sometime tomorrow but I have to work so it may be late. Man, I swear that every time I try and introduce Janet into this story it just keeps getting pushed further and further away. I'm beginning to wander if she will ever make an appearance. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I found it very difficult to write and I'm not sure if I'm completely happy with it but it will do for now. **


	5. She's a fighter

**A/N: Another chapter for you guys to sink your teeth into, I hope you like it. Again I wasn't really sure where this chapter was headed I just started writing and this is what I came up with. Anyway, enjoy!**

Jack sat down in a chair next to the hospital bed, he eyes searching Sam's face for any sign that she was going to open your eyes and look at him. Little did he know it would be just over a week before he got to see those eyes again. He reached out to grab her hand, but pulled back at the touch of her icy skin. "Jeez Sam, what the hell happened?" He leant over and brushed a kiss to the back of her hand before holding it in his own. He sat like this for some time just looking over the woman that he loved before he drifted off to an exhausted sleep.

At 0200 hours, Dr Janet Frasier had just finished dealing with all the paperwork involved in getting Sam's patient files handed over to the SGC and getting herself assigned to head the case. She noted with a frown that the Doctor already on the case was a bit too eager to give it up, probably thinking she wouldn't make it. As soon as she had finished all of the important paperwork she made her way through the hospital to the ICU. As she walked over to where Sam was she noticed a man sleeping in the chair next to the bed, it took her a few seconds to realise that it was none other than Jack O'Neill. She smiled at the man who was clearly exhausted but was still holding her friends hand firmly, it had been a few months since she had seen the man but he was looking better than ever. Even though his hair was getting greyer and greyer every time she saw him he had clearly kept in shape and well groomed. She walked over to stand next to the man "Jack, you should go home, come back in the morning." He gave a slight grumble at the disturbance but remained sleeping "Jack, wake up!" she said with a little bit more determination. Jack turned his head away from her and mumbled something under his breath before begrudgingly opening his eyes. "Doc, what time is it?" "It's nice to see you too Jack." She added jokingly. "Sorry." She smiled down at the man in the chair she knew he didn't really mean it but it was somewhat like a reflex for the man now. "It's just past 0200 Jack, you should really go home and get some rest." At her words Jack sat up straight and stared lovingly down at her best friend "I won't leave her Doc, I don't care if I have to ring the President himself. I am not letting her out of my sight." She looked between Jack and Sam and nodded her head "Alright, you can keep me company?" She grabbed the chair next to Jack's, moved it to the other side of the bed and sat down. She let out a sigh and just watched Sam's chest rise and fall with the rhythmic noise of the ventilator and the heart monitor behind her. Janet wasn't at all surprised when she looked up and found Jack asleep again on the other side of the room. Whilst she sat there she had let her mind wander a bit, when it came to her mind that Jack had looked at her best friend not with a look of concern but a look of real pain, the pain of a loved one. She again raised her head to look at the man across from her but was startled to find his dark brown eyes searching hers. "What's wrong Doc? You look worried." The hint of desperation wasn't missed by Janet and neither was the fear clearly strewn across his face. "Nothing Jack, I was just thinking." She looked down at her hand that was wrapped around Sam's and the across at an almost mirror image but with Jack's instead of her own.

Jack noticed the look of confusion on the Doctors face as she looked at his hand intertwined with that of her best friend. He knew that Sam had wanted until she could really celebrate to tell anyone of their engagement. Other than General Landry the only other person that knew was him and Sam, oh and the President of course. He looked at Janet and then at Sam, clearly deciding which wrath to face. That of the tiny woman across from him that knew her way around a needle or that of his wounded fiancée laying battered before him. He decided he would face the latter, for one she was probably too weak to put up any sort of serious fight and secondly the little woman sitting across from him scared him to death if she wanted too. "Look Janet, I want to explain." He lifted up the hand that he was holding on to Sam with, lifting hers up in the process. Janet was truly confused it wasn't like Jack to be so open about these sorts of things especially with someone outside of SG-1. She looked Jack straight in the eyes wandering where this could be going. "Sam and I are 'together'" He gestured with his fingers as he said the words. "She didn't want to tell you, well anybody for that matter until she got back from Atlantis, and well she's back so I'm telling you." He sheepishly looked up at the woman who was trying to digest what had just been blurted out of his mouth. "Together?" She said the word as if unsure of its meaning. "Yeah, together, involved, tied up, engaged, however you want to put it." Jack whispered with sorrow lining every word.

Janet could barely believe what she was being told "You proposed to her, you actually proposed?!" She looked at Jack and then at Sam, almost forgetting for a second that her friend was unconscious "He proposed and you didn't tell me!" She got up from where she was sitting and walked over to Jack, she bent over and wrapped her arms around his neck "Oh Jack I'm so sorry this must be really terrible for you, I am happy for you two though." She couldn't help it after her outburst she broke down even more and began to cry as the events of the day began catching up with her. Much to her surprise she could hear small sobs coming from the in her arms "It is Janet, It really is. The hardest thing I have had to do by far is sit here next to her, I feel so helpless." He looked down at the small woman and felt some reassurance in the woman's embrace. "Jack, she is a fighter, everyone who knows her, knows that. If anyone could get through this it's her. She'll get through this; we just need to give her a helping hand along the way kay?" With this she pulled away from him, wiping her face with the back of her hand and making her way back over to the other chair. She slumped down into the chair and sighed. They sat together in a comfortable silence before both falling asleep.

**A/N: Okay so this was a bit of a filler chapter I needed to introduce Janet into the story and I felt like it needed a bit of an explanation. I hope it makes sense, I wrote this after work and it was quite late by the time I finished it. I'm thinking in the next chapter that I might skip ahead a little bit, and maybe get back to writing the story from Sam's perspective what do you think? Anyway please review I am dying to hear what you think of the story and relish any suggestions that you might have.**


	6. Waking up

**A/N: As the chapter name suggests Sam will wake up in this chapter. YAY! Also the rest of SG-1, Daniel, Teal'c, Vala and Cam will make an appearance in this chapter, albeit a small one. I don't want to give away too much information so read and I hope you enjoy it. So, after five chapters I still haven't received any reviews yet and I'm starting to worry that people aren't enjoying my story. I will continue to write for my own enjoyment but I would still love to hear from you guys, good or bad. **

Over the next few days Jack spent nearly his entire time sitting next to Sam's bed and if he wasn't there, Janet was. Sam had had another three surgeries and Jack could see that, although slowly she was getting better. Seven days after arriving at the hospital and Jack could see that Janet was worried that her friend hadn't shown any sign of waking up, Jack tried to stay positive but it was hard. Over those seven days Sam had many visitors, Teal'c, Daniel even Cam and Vala made an appearance. Jack hadn't really had much time to get to know Vala Mal Doran but from what he had heard from the rest of his team she was a giant pain in the butt, he very much liked her. He liked her even more when she came to see Sam. She had smiled at him as she walked in but walked straight over to the side of the bed and sat on it. She squared her shoulders and looked directly at Sam "Sammy you need to wake up," When Vala didn't see any sign that her shopping buddy was waking she moved her face right in front of Sam's and continued. "There is no one else willing to take me shopping. Come on Sammmmy!" When she still didn't wake up Vala sighed heavily and plopped into the chair next to the bed defeated, she was certain that she would be able to wake her up. Jack looked over at the woman sitting across from him; put it up to Sam to befriend someone like Vala, he shook his head at the thought. His gaze then made its way to Sam's face, his eyes moved from her soft lips, to her button nose, up to her eyes, her eyes that had been hidden away from him for far too long.

"Sam? Jack I think she just moved." He looked over at Vala then back down at his fiancée, when out of the corner of his eye he definitely saw her move. "Go and get Janet. NOW!" Vala jumped up and ran to find the good ol' doc. Jacks let his hands fall on her shoulders, gently trying to wake her "Sam, sweetie you there?" Almost as if in reaction to his words her eyes shot open and her body began to writhe under an unknown force. Jack automatically tried to hold her down but didn't want to hurt her. "Jack, Vala said… Oh My God." Jack looked at the woman, not even trying to hide the fear on his face "Help her Janet." At his words 'Janet' seemed to transform into 'Dr Frasier' in an instant. "Jack she is choking on her intubation tube, her body is trying to force it out." "What do I do?" Janet got to work removing the intubation tube "Just try and hold her still Jack." It seemed like hours that Jack stood over the thrashing body of the woman he loves whilst Janet removed the tube from her throat. As soon as the tube left Sam's mouth her body slumped and her eyes closed. "Janet?" Jacks voice had raised a few octaves and he was clearly riddled with fear. "She's alright Jack. Sam can you open your eyes for us please?" Still not believing that she was okay, Jack looked back towards Sam, her eyelids began to flutter and after a few moments her eyes focused on Jacks.

Blue meeting Brown, the smile that broke out on Jacks face was so full of happiness and relief that Sam couldn't help but cry, tears began falling down her cheeks before her own smile spread across her face. "Oww" Sam managed to choke out as she tried to raise her hand to Jacks cheek "Shh, don't move sweetie, you're pretty banged up." Janet quickly took over explaining all of her injuries; Jack tried to block it out not wanting to hear just how close he came to losing her. Instead he just kept focusing on her eyes, although they were a bit cloudy due to the pain medication they were still just as he remembered them. After Janet had finished, Sam squeezed Jacks hands "I'm so sorry." Her voice was still raspy because of the intubation tube. "Hey, I won't hear any of that Carter, none of this was your fault you hear me?" She was taken aback by the real anger in his tone, but she knew he must have been terrified over the past week and knowing him, he kept it all bottled up inside.

It took another two days before Sam was allowed out of bed and even then it was under strict supervision. "Ugh! I feel like a child, I can't even get up out of a chair by myself." Sam looked at Janet, who was currently helping her out of a chair and back into bed. "Stop chuckling at me Janet, this is not funny." She was really quite upset at having to rely on others, it's not something she was used to doing. It wasn't even so much the fact that they had to help her, it was how helpless it made her feel, especially when she needed help to go to the bathroom. She had refused to let Jack do anything other than get her in and out of bed or a chair. She didn't quite feel that he was ready to take her to the toilet or give her a sponge bath: as much as he would have enjoyed doing the latter it just felt wrong.

As soon as Sam was lying safely back in bed Janet was standing next to her clearly thinking about how to word something "Spit it out Janet!" Janet had a look of confusion on her face but Sam knew her friend to well to be fooled by it. "What ever do you mean?" Sam just rolled her eyes "I know that look Janet, that's the look you give me whenever you think I'm being foolish or unreasonable. Now spit it out!" Sam glared at Janet until she positioned herself on the chair next to the bed. "Alright you got me, but you can't get angry with me for saying this okay?" Sam sighed exuberantly "Like hell I can't, just say it Janet." Janet smiled at the familiar banter between the two of them. "Okay, okay. Look I think you should let Jack help, he is trying to be here for you but you keep pushing him away. Right now he needs your assurance just as much as you need his, so I think you should suck it up, let go of your pride and trust the man Sam." Sam sat surprised for a minute, she hadn't thought that was what she was going to say. She could always trust Janet to be blunt with her though, that was something she really liked about her. "Janet I can't, I… He…. I just can't alright, can you drop this?" She was trying to tiptoe around the subject of her engagement because at the time she didn't want to tell her friend about it and it felt wrong to drop the information on her now. Little did Sam know that her 'wonderful' fiancé has already let her best friend in on the big secret without telling her about it.

Sam noticed the smug smile on her friends face the moment she looked at her "That bastard, he told you didn't he." Janet had a mock seriousness to her features "I thought you were my best friend Samantha Carter, and yet you neglect to mention that you are engaged to the love of your life just before you go away on a mission that you may have very well never returned from, I can't believe it!" Sam was surprised that her friend had felt so strongly about it, she knew she would be upset but Janet seemed fuming. "Look I'm sorry Janet, but I didn't want to tell anyone. I wanted to be able to celebrate properly and I couldn't do that at the time because everybody was so caught up with me going to Atlantis. Oh and for the record _every_ mission that I go on there is a chance that I won't come home." She added the last part because frankly she was getting quite upset with her friend for not understanding her reasons. "Sam I was joking, I mean yes I'm upset you didn't tell me but I understand why. And I AM happy for you, I know you have wanted this for a long time and you both deserve all the happiness in the world, heck in the universe." Sam chuckled at her friends words and pulled her in for a hug "I really am sorry Janet." Janet sighed into her friends embrace. "I know Sam, me too."

"Uhumm." The two women were startled by someone clearing their throat in the doorway. "Sorry to break this up Doc but Vala wants to see you about something and I think my former 2IC is about to kick my butt." He added the last bit while throwing a look of apology towards Sam. Janet smiled at Sam and squeezed her hands reassuringly "Just don't cause him too much damage; I already have one difficult patient." Sam smiled back at her friend "Can't make any promises." Jack Dramatically swallowed at her words but took her hand in his and sat next to her bed. She wasn't upset at him for telling her friend, but it was fun to make the man sweat a little. "Jeez Jack, I can't believe you did that." She was trying her best to keep a straight face but she just couldn't seem to do it, Jack picked up on her little ruse fairly quickly. "I know Darling." He emphasised 'darling' knowing how much it annoyed Sam. He copped a playful punch to the arm for his troubles, but then was quickly pulled into a kiss. They sat there for a long time mouth, to mouth before they had to pull away to catch their breath. Sam wasn't quite sure why she was so anxious about kissing the man she loves, maybe it was because she had been gone for so long or maybe she thought he would be discouraged by their surroundings but that kiss was just as good, if not better than every other kiss the couple had shared. There seemed to be a sense of longing between them which was rudely interrupted by a loud cheer in the doorway.

"WOOOOHOOOOO! CAM, TEAL'C, DANNY!" Sam looked towards Vala in the doorway then touched her forehead to Jack's "Well I guess our little secret is well and truly out." Jack gave her a grin "Bout bloody time."

**A/N: Yeah I know this chapter is super long but I really didn't want to split it into two separate chapters. That's why it has taken me so long to get this one up because it is pretty much two chapters in one. I hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to hearing from you, Until next chapter.**


	7. Secret's out

** A/N: I really had no idea what to write for this chapter, so I sort of just babbled on a bit and hoped that it made sense and that I could wrap everything up for y'all. Not sure if there will be an epilogue or spin off story to this one so I will hold off on marking it as complete until I brood over my options for a while. Anyways please review and let me know what you think.**

Vala stood wide-eyed in the door way watching the couple in front of her, as the other men ran in behind her they all had various looks of surprise on their faces as they looked upon their two friends. "Well kids don't just stand there come in, sit down before you pass out." The three people standing in the door all walked in the room and sat down on the opposite side to Jack "Oh My God Sammy, I can't believe you didn't tell us." Vala had put a pout on her face that would make any one feel guilty, Sam knew that she was just fishing for information. "There was never the right time, what with me moving to another galaxy and all." Daniel gasped, "you mean to tell us that you were dating before that." Jack just rolled his eyes and looked at the younger man. "If you must know Space Monkey Sam and I have been 'dating' as you say, since Sam got the transfer to Area 51 a few years back." The looks of shock on their faces seemed to only get worse the more information that they were given. "Sam is this true" All three turned to look at her, Sam all of a sudden felt as if she was on trial. "Hey guys, can't you just be happy for us, especially you Daniel you know how long we have wanted this." For the first time in the discussion Teal'c stepped forward "We are indeed happy for you and O'Neill, Samantha Carter." Sam smiled at him "Aww thanks Teal'c." Cam looked between the other three members of his team "Of course were all happy for you guys, were just a little shocked. Like seriously how did you manage to keep this.." He motioned between the two of them. "A secret for so long?" Jack sat up straight as if proud of his abilities "Well I am Black Ops trained." He added smugly, everyone turned to look at him before turning their attention back to Sam "So you mean to tell us that you guys have been dating for nearly four years." It seemed no matter how much they explained it the others just wouldn't comprehend it "Daniel we only dated for three years, just before I went to Atlantis Jack proposed and I accepted." She couldn't help but let the smile on her face spread when Jack reached over and grabbed her hand in his. "I am soooo happy for you Sammy" She pulled Sam into a hug "Oh I have the BEST engagement present." Sam pulled away from her with a quizzical look on her face. Vala got up and headed towards her Jacket that she had left on her chair and reached into the pocket as she turned around both Sam and Jack let out a gasp of surprise "Your gift is a Goa'uld healing device?" Vala rolled her eyes "No silly, your gift is being healed by yours truly with the Goa'uld healing device." Jack looked at Vala then at Sam "Does the Doc know about this?" Vala rolled her eyes "Yes that's what we were discussing before you two dropped your little secret on the group"

After a couple of minutes under the Goa'uld healing device Sam was nearly back to full health, she was still a bit tender in places and Janet had put her on strict bed rest for the next couple of days but had allowed her to go home. "Jack I CAN walk you know." Jack looked down at her in his arms and smiled "Yeah I know but that wouldn't be as fun and you know the whole carrying you over the threshold" Sam giggled "That's not until after we get married and unless I missed that while I was in hospital we're not there yet Jack." Just before reaching the doorway to his house he placed Sam down on her feet but kept a steadying hand at the small of her back, he led her into his house. Into their house, he smiled at the thought of doing just that for the rest of their lives. He hadn't wanted something so much for such a long time he had forgotten what it felt like. Damn he missed that feeling.

**A/N: Okay so I think that is it for this story**. **I had thought about maybe doing an epilogue or a spin-off story but unless someone asks for it specifically or gives me some ideas I think this will do for now. I am pretty pleased with 7 chapters for my first ever story and I was overwhelmed with how many people actually took time out of their days to read my little story. I know at times my grammar wasn't the best but everything was un-beta'd and usually written quite late at night or in the early hours of the morning. For example I am bringing this final chapter to you at 3am. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my little story and I know it seemed to just all wrap up but I really wanted to finish it and I hope I did the characters justice. I tried to stay as true to the characters that I have grown up with and trust that you all liked my story enough to let me know what you all thought. I thank you all so much for reading it and I hope that, when I begin another story that some of you will come along for the ride.**


End file.
